1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to generally to dental hygiene and, more particularly, to toothbrush and brushing compound combinations.
2. Description of Related Art
Proper dental hygiene is not only important for dental health reasons, but for personal appearance considerations as well. One of the many techniques people employ to improve their personal appearance through dental hygiene is to have their teeth whitened. Teeth whitening techniques vary in cost, convenience, and effectiveness.
Dental health professionals use many techniques to whiten teeth to improve their patients"" personal appearance. High pressure baking soda solutions are used to scour teeth in a process analogous to sand-blasting. Chemical treatments abound for bleaching the teeth. However, these treatments require the inconvenience of visiting a dental health practice and the expense involved in having the treatment performed by a dental health professional.
Brushing with a dentifrice, whether a toothpaste, gel, cream, or powder, has some effect in whitening teeth due to the abrasive action of the dentifrice on the teeth. A relatively simple method of whitening teeth comprises brushing them with a dentifrice comprising whitening agents. Hydrogen peroxide, a common whitening agent, is a component in many off-the-shelf toothpastes and tooth gels. However, certain diets and activities, such as smoking, stain the teeth beyond the ability of a dentifrice alone to sufficiently whiten them.
The prior art discloses toothbrushes equipped with a light source that can illuminate the brushing region and provide beneficial radiation to the tooth surface. Examples of illuminating toothbrushes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,143 entitled DENTAL HYGIENE APPLIANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,194 entitled TOOTHBRUSH WITH EXTERNALLY ILLUMINATED BRISTLES; U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,090 entitled OPTICAL TOOTHBRUSH AND METHOD OF USE; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,173 entitled ILLUMINATED BRUSH DEVICE, all of which arc expressed incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
A need exists for an improvement in whitening and cleaning teeth which does not require visiting a dental health professional and which improves the whitening of prior art dentifrices and electromagnetic radiation emitting toothbrushes.
A cleaning and whitening system for teeth having an electromagnetic radiation emitting toothbrush and a dentifrice with a photosensitive agent is disclosed. The toothbrush has a cleaning surface, such as bristles. The toothbrush is also adapted to direct electromagnetic radiation toward the cleaning surface. The electromagnetic radiation may be monochromatic or polychromatic. Further, the electromagnetic radiation may be substantially free of ultraviolet radiation. Additionally, the electromagnetic radiation may consist essentially of wavelengths within a range of 300 to 750 nanometers. The photosensitive agent is dispersed throughout the dentifrice. The dentifrice transmits the electromagnetic radiation through a varying thickness of dentifrice disposed over a target surface during use of the system. As a result, a significant portion of the photosensitive agent reacts, resulting in whitening stains, removing and/or disclosing undesirable substances, and/or foaming. The dentifrice may be clear and may have clear abrasive particles.
In an aspect of the invention, the cleaning and whitening system for teeth comprises a toothbrush having a cleaning surface, the toothbrush being adapted to direct polychromatic electromagnetic radiation toward the cleaning surface, wherein the polychromatic electromagnetic radiation consists essentially of wavelengths within a range of 300 to 750 nanometers.
In an aspect of the invention, the teeth cleaning and whitening system comprises a dentifrice that has a photosensitive agent that reacts substantially only to electromagnetic radiation within a predetermined range. The system further comprises a toothbrush having a cleaning surface, the toothbrush being adapted to direct electromagnetic radiation toward the cleaning surface, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is bound to wavelengths that are substantially within the predetermined range.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the photosensitive agent has a relatively high reaction rate when exposed to electromagnetic radiation in a highly reactive portion of the predetermined range compared to an average reaction rate when the photosensitive agent is exposed to electromagnetic radiation over the predetermined range. Additionally, the polychromatic electromagnetic radiation emitted by the toothbrush is bound to wavelengths that are substantially within the highly reactive portion of the predetermined range.
In an aspect of the invention, a method of tuning the cleaning and whitening system for teeth includes a step of formulating the dentifrice with photosensitive agents that react to a range of electromagnetic radiation, and a step of providing a toothbrush that emits that electromagnetic radiation range.
In another aspect of the invention, a method of tuning the cleaning and whitening system includes a step of designing a toothbrush that emits a range of electromagnetic radiation and another step of formulating a dentifrice with a photosensitive agent that reacts to the electromagnetic radiation range.